AP National News

By BRIAN MELLEY and DON THOMPSON Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — The effort by three Latino politicians to maximize their influence in Los Angeles backfired after a leaked recording of their meeting exposed crude and, at times, racist banter that has already led to one city councilmember’s resignation and could have broader legal and

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — A man who made a video describing abortion as genocide has pleaded guilty to arson for a fire at a Planned Parenthood clinic in southwestern Michigan. U.S. Attorney Mark Totten says 25-year-old Joshua Brereton of Paw Paw faces a Feb. 6 sentencing after entering the plea. Brereton admitted that last

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Stanford University apologized for limiting the admission of Jewish students in the 1950s after a task force commissioned by the school found records that show university officials excluded Jewish students for years and later the school denied it occurred. The task force was formed in January and issued a report last

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — JPMorgan Chase and the rapper formerly known as Kanye West are ending their business relationship, but the breakup is not a result of the controversy over the hip-hop star’s recent antisemitic comments. The decision became public Wednesday after conservative activist Candice Owens, who has been

By GABE STERN Associated Press/Report for America RENO, Nev. (AP) — A Nye County district judge has dismissed an emergency petition by the ACLU’s Nevada chapter attempting to stop the county from its plan to hand-count votes alongside a machine tabulator starting later this month. The plan was spurred by false claims of election fraud.

By JANET McCONNAUGHEY and MICHAEL PHILLIS Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency said it has evidence that Black residents in an industrial section of Louisiana face an increased risk of cancer from a nearby chemical plant — and that state officials have let air pollution remain high and downplayed its threat.

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea early Friday launched a short-range ballistic missile toward its eastern waters and flew warplanes near the border with South Korea, further raising animosities triggered by the North’s recent barrage of weapons tests. South Korea’s military also said it detected North Korea firing about

By LISA MASCARO, FARNOUSH AMIRI, ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Jan. 6 committee voted unanimously to subpoena former President Donald Trump, demanding his personal testimony as it unveiled startling new video and described his multi-part plan to overturn his 2020 election loss, which led to his supporters’ fierce assault on the

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Multiple people were wounded Thursday evening in what authorities described as an “active shooting” in a residential neighborhood of Raleigh, North Carolina. “State and local officers are on the ground and working to stop the shooter and keep people safe,” Gov. Roy Cooper tweeted. The Raleigh

By AMANDA SEITZ, TRISHA AHMED, CLAIRE SAVAGE and HANNAH SCHOENBAUM Associated Press ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — In a year when inflation has made Americans’ eyes pop when they fill up their gas or walk down aisles at the grocery store, many Social Security recipients worry whether the biggest cost-of-living increase in four decades will be

By MARCY GORDON AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Facebook parent Meta struck back in its legal battle with federal regulators over its proposed acquisition of virtual-reality company Within Unlimited and its fitness app Supernatural. Meta asked a federal court in San Jose, California, to dismiss the Federal Trade Commission’s request in July for an

MERCED, Calif. (AP) — The California man accused of kidnapping and killing an 8-month-old baby, her parents and uncle earlier this month has pleaded not guilty. Jesus Salgado, allegedly kidnapped the family at gunpoint from their trucking business on Oct. 3. Authorities say Jesus Salgado, a former employee with a longstanding dispute, likely killed them

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi judge on Thursday blocked a state law that put $10 million of federal pandemic relief money into infrastructure grants for private schools. The ruling by Hinds County Chancery Judge Crystal Wise Martin is a victory for Parents for Public Schools. The nonprofit group

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The first batch of guilty pleas involving about 50 people charged in a large-scale scheme to defraud a federal meals program in Minnesota have been entered in court. Hadith Ahmed, who worked for the Feeding Our Future program, became the first employee to plead guilty and testify about the fraud. He admitted

By JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — A Florida-based oilman who pleaded guilty for taking part in a $1 billion conspiracy to pay bribes to Venezuelan officials received a major break in sentencing after cooperating with U.S. prosecutors investigating corruption at the country’s state-run oil monopoly. Abraham Shiera was one of the first witnesses

By BOB CHRISTIE Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — A southwestern Arizona woman who pleaded guilty to illegally collecting four early voting ballots in the 2020 primary election has been sentenced to 30 days in jail and two years of probation. A Yuma County judge on Thursday rejected 66-year-old Guillermina Fuentes’ plea for just probation and

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD and WILL WEISSERT Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — President Joe Biden’s visit to California and Oregon this week comes close to Election Day and shows how Democrats are calling in reinforcements in states that are typically afterthoughts for the party. Republicans are trying to retake control of the House and

By AMANDA SEITZ Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration says the COVID-19 public health emergency will continue through Jan. 11 as officials brace for a spike in cases this winter. The decision comes as the pandemic has faded from the forefront of many people’s minds. Daily deaths and infections are dropping and people